Felipe Massa was cheated out of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship. News broke this week that the FIA surprised a cheating investigation (later admitted to by the Renault team) to prevent a scandal. Even if it has taken 14 years, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa must be awarded the 2008 World Championship title to serve justice and restore the integrity of the pinnacle of motorsports.
A brief recap of the sad story; Renault’s devious plot to win the Singapore Grand Prix involved having number-two driver Nelson Piquet Jr intentionally crash his car shortly after number-one driver Fernando Alonso’s pit stop, promoting the champ to the front of the pack on a street circuit where it was nearly impossible to pass. Felipe Massa was leading the race after his pole-position quali performance, but when the Scuderia scrambled to pit during the crash-induced chaos, Ferrari botched Felipe’s stop, and he tumbled down the order. Hamilton bagged six points to Massa’s zero. In retrospect, those points made all the difference in the outcome of the championship.
This week, F1’s former Supreme Leader Bernie Ecclestone’s shockingly confessed that he the and former FIA president knew that Renault cheated by ordering Piquet Jr to intentionally crash. According to Big Boss Bernie, the rules required the FIA to erase the Singapore Grand Prix from the F1 championship.
“We decided not to do anything for now. We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal. That’s why I used angelic tongues to persuade my former driver Nelson Piquet Sr. to keep calm for the time being. We had enough information in time to investigate the matter. According to the statutes, we should have cancelled the race in Singapore under these conditions.
That means it would never have happened for the championship standings. And then Felipe Massa would have become World Champion and not Lewis Hamilton.”
F1 Supremo, Bernie Ecclestone
F1 and the FIA did not investigate, did not scrap the race results, or eliminate the points from the overall championship, Their inaction and silence robbed Felipe Massa of the 2008 World Championship title by one single point.
Felipe Massa must be awarded the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship title, and Lewis Hamilton subsequently stripped of his tainted trophy. Massa is considering legal action, seeking to overturn the results, as the circumstances that have just come to light.
“There is a rule that says that when a championship is decided, from the moment the driver receives the champion’s trophy, things can no longer be changed, even if it has been proven a theft. But after 15 years, we hear that the owner of F1 says that he found out in 2008, together with the president of the FIA, and they did nothing so as to not tarnish the name of F1.
This is very sad, to know the result of this race was supposed to be cancelled and I would have a title. I would never go after it thinking financially. I would go after it thinking about justice. I think if you’ve been punished for something that wasn’t your fault, and it’s the product of a robbery, a stolen race, justice has to be served.”
F1 racer, Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa is one of the most beloved Brazilian racers of all time. He’s right up on the list of all-time greats with Tony Kanaan, Rubens Barrichello and Hélio Castroneves. One can only image how the trajectory of his career might have changed if he was not robbed of the 2008 title.
The time has come to right this grievous wrong, and award Felipe Massa the 2008 Formula World Driver’s Championship. It would be a truly magnanimous moment.
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As a fellow Brazilian, it is heartbreaking to remember the 2008 F-One season. First, Massa was shamefully robbed of his title and to make things worse, he came so close to winning, even after the disgraced Singapore GP.
Second, Piquet Jr. threw his career in the garbage bin when he accepted to be part of that despicable plot. Well, we all know that Piquet Senior is some kind of a jerk anyway, which might have influenced his son in accepting being part of that scheme.
As fellow race enthusiasts, we will never forget Massa’s display on the podium that final race of 2008. Dignity in defeat. The man did everything he could, winning the race, maximizing his points…but it was not to be.
That moment has bothered us for 14 years, and until now, we felt Glock was the villain. But Piquet was definitely to blame for how Massa’s season ended.
But now…all these years later…to hear that F1 and the FIA colluded to keep a cheating scandal hidden, and that moment itself cost Massa his F1 world title…its almost too much.
Felipe Massa was robbed of his 2008 Championship. This must be made right!